[3] Referred to as the "Cidade Museu" of the Trás-os-Montes region, it is located 86 kilometres from Bragança, preserving many of its medieval and Renaissance-era traditions and architecture.

It has a language of its own, Mirandese, which enjoys official status in Portugal, in addition to cultural and historical discontinuity with the rest of the Portuguese state.

The origin of Miranda do Douro as a populated place is still discussed by historians, but archeologist discoveries give evidence that inhabitants had been living there during the Bronze Age.

[4] The settlement of the village of Miranda developed through the initiative of King Denis, in an area that lay between the lateral slopes of the Douro and Fresno Rivers.

[5] Miranda was founded on 18 December 1286, and immediately elevated to the status of vila (English: town), with one of its prerequisites declaring that the administrative division would be a Crown fief.

[5] Miranda, therefore, became the capital of the Trás-os-Montes, seat of the bishopric (that included the residence of the bishop, canons and ecclesiastical authorities), military governorship and civil centre.

During the course of his invasion, the gunpowder magazine (with over 500 barrels of powder) was hit by a cannon, destroying the four towers of the castle and many of the barrios in the vicinity.

[4][5] Approximately a third of the city's population (about 400 residents) were killed, resulting in the ruin of the religious, demographic and urbanized portion of Miranda.

The creation of the complementary Parque Natural de Arribes in Spain, allowed the systematic protection of an area that encompassed the larger ecosystem and biome.

[8] Administratively, the municipality is divided into 13 civil parishes (freguesias):[9] Miranda do Douro is twinned with:[10] The city has been isolated from the rest of the country for many centuries, so the ancestral way of life is still vivid in the traditions and even in the language (see below).

The city has no industries but depends on commercial activity, mainly the sale of house textiles and cutlery from the village of Palaçoulo.